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The median sales price for a single-family home in Bend remained about the same as it was since the start of the year, but was more than $100,000 higher than the same period the year before, according to the Beacon Report for Central Oregon.

Home sales held strong because inventory remained low and a large share of the market sales data are in the million-dollar plus category, said Donnie Montagner, owner of the Beacon Appraisal Group of Redmond. The median sales price was $575,000 in Bend and $373,000 in Redmond during February.

And typical of this time of year, the number of sales dropped to 117 in Bend, a decline from the high of 318 sales in the month of July.

“We’re in a seller’s market,” Montagner said, “beyond a doubt. People are discovering the value of Redmond. Redmond is the next step if you’re priced out of the market in Bend.”

Homebuyers, especially those from out of town, find Bend attractive, Montagner said. That is what is driving up the median sales price.

“Bend is a jewel in the middle of Oregon, and the other communities around it become in high demand as well,” he said.

The Beacon Report uses the median sales price, which is the midpoint value of all transactions in a month.

In both Redmond and Bend, homes were on the market an average of four days. If no new homes came on the market, the current level of inventory of homes for sale would last about a week. The growth in home prices is being fueled, in part by low interest rates and the lack of inventory.

Sunriver, with a smaller sample size to draw from, has seen more high-end properties sell in recent months, bumping up the median single-family home price to $771,000 in February, according to the report.